Saint Michael the Archangel

This wooden statue with elongated proportions is a typical representative of the art of the northern French-Netherlandish border region. The carving of the draperies and the construction of the figure are rather bold; in contrast to Netherlandish sculptors, here the master does not lose himself in minute details. The most direct analogies are three angels preserved in the museum of Lille. It is likely that the Budapest statue once belonged to an altar. St Michael appears here as the vanquisher of the evil one; in medieval iconography he also appears in Last Judgement compositions as the weigher of the souls.